Personal and Environmental Predictors of Aggression in Adolescence.

This study aims to find causal factors of aggression in a group of Latino adolescents to achieve a greater understanding of human nature, taking into account personal and contextual variables. The fundamental hypothesis is that moral disengagement, personality traits, self-esteem, values, parenting, sex, and socioeconomic situation can function as possible casual factors of aggression in adolescents. The study examined the variables using the structural equations model (SEM) to determine causal factors of aggression in a sample of 827 adolescents (54% men and 46% women) between 11 and 16 years of age. According to the scientific literature review, sociodemographic, personal, and familiar variables were included in the causal model. The influence of the variables occurred in two ways: one that inhibits aggression and the other that reinforces it. The results are discussed based on identifying protective and risk factors against aggression: biological sex and values of conformity and transcendence as aggression's inhibitors and, on the other hand, openness, moral disengagement, and leadership values as the most important predictors of aggression.

Women Facing Psychological Abuse: How Do They Respond to Maternal Identity Humiliation and Body Shaming?

This research analyzes the decisions made by women facing simulated situations of psychological abuse. Seventy-three women (36.9 ± 13.6 years) who had been victims of domestic violence participated. The analysis was based on their coping strategies, early maladaptive schemes, and their decisions in response to vignettes describing the following domestic violence situations: humiliation to women's maternal identity with children as witnesses and body shaming. We used Student's t and Mann-Whitney tests to compare the results between groups. The participants presented some coping strategies (social support seeking, wishful thinking, and professional support seeking) and several early maladaptive schemes (emotional deprivation, defectiveness/shame, social isolation/alienation, failure to achieve, attachment, and subjugation) associated with their reactions facing a situation of humiliation with children as witnesses. When the humiliation was against the body image, their reactions were associated with some coping strategies (wishful thinking, professional support seeking, autonomy, negative auto-focus coping, and positive reappraisal) and one maladaptive scheme (defectiveness/shame). Women who reacted avoidantly showed higher social and professional support seeking but experienced higher indicators of discomfort and deterioration of self-esteem than those who opted for assertive decisions. The presence of children as witnesses seems to be a factor of stress in the configuration of coping strategies and maladaptive schemes in female victims of domestic violence. The evolution of early maladaptive schemes and coping strategies requires observation to avoid the risk of isolation and permanence in victimizing relationships.

Intervención psicosocial, bienestar y capital social en comunidades con desventaja socioeconómica / Psychosocial intervention, welfare and social capital in communities with socio-economic disadvantage

Introducción: En Colombia se realizan programas de intervención psicosocial en comunidades con desventaja socioeconómica para mejorar su calidad de vida, sin embargo, no se realizan evaluaciones de impacto para medir su efectividad. Objetivo: Determinar la relación que existe entre el tiempo de exposición a procesos de intervención psicosocial en comunidades en desventaja socioeconómica, con su percepción de bienestar psicológico, bienestar social y capital social, en el área metropolitana de Barranquilla. Métodos: investigación fue de corte explicativo ex post facto, con una muestra de 135 personas mayores de 17 años. Se hizo un análisis de varianza para encontrar la dependencia entre los procesos de intervención y las variables dependientes. Resultados: Se encontró una relación de significancia entre el grupo etario de los participantes y algunas dimensiones del bienestar psicológico, del bienestar social y del capital social. No se encontraron relaciones significativas entre el tiempo de intervención y las variables dependientes mencionadas. Conclusiones: A pesar de la vulnerabilidad del entorno, las comunidades intervenidas participantes del estudio evidenciaron una percepción de bienestar psicológico y social y de valoración positiva de su capital social sin una relación significativa con el tiempo de exposición al trabajo comunitario. Los procesos de intervención psicosocial tienen el potencial suficiente para favorecer la mejora de las condiciones de las personas, grupos o comunidades, pero requieren de la implementación de procesos de evaluación que permitan hacer seguimiento a su impacto(AU)

Introduction: Colombia psychosocial intervention programs are carried out in communities with socioeconomic disadvantage to improve their quality of life; however, no impact's assessments are carried out to measure their effectiveness. Objective: Determine the relation between the time of exposure to psychosocial intervention's processes in communities at socioeconomic disadvantage, and their perception of psychological well-being, social welfare and social capital, in the metropolitan area of Barranquilla. Methods: The research was ex post facto explanatory one, with a sample of 135 people over the age of 17. A variance analysis was done to find the dependency between intervention processes and dependent variables. Results: A relationship of significance was found between the age group of the participants and some dimensions of psychological well-being, social welfare and social capital. No significant relationships were found between the intervention time and the dependent variables mentioned. Conclusions: Despite the vulnerability of the environment, the communities involved in the study demonstrated a perception of psychological and social well-being and positive assessment of their social capital without a significant relationship with the time of exposure to community work. Psychosocial intervention's processes have sufficient potential to promote the improvement of the conditions of individuals, groups or communities, but they require the implementation of assessment processes that allow to follow up on their impact(AU)

Gender, Anxiety, and Legitimation of Violence in Adolescents Facing Simulated Physical Aggression at School.

We analyzed gender and anxiety differences in middle school students facing a physical peer aggression situation. The participants were 1147 adolescents aged between 12 and 18 years (male: n = 479; female: n = 668) who watched a 12 s animation representing the situation and filled out a questionnaire to analyze the legitimation of violent behaviors and anxiety levels. We registered their decisions to solve the situation using a categorical scale that included assertive, avoidant, aggressive, submissive, and supportive behaviors. Gender was not associated with the adolescent's behaviors in facing a simulated peer aggression situation. However, male teenagers tended to perceive adults as sanctioners and neutrals; those who used the diffusion of responsibility and dehumanization to justify their behavior also showed a higher state of anxiety. Female teenagers who expected legitimation from their peers, presented higher anxiety as well. Educational interventions may use these results, helping adolescents to understand that their acts have substantial implications in the lives of others. It is essential to develop group interventions that modify how adolescents manage their conflicts and change gender stereotypes that significantly impact health. We highlight the need for linking families in educational programs facing the challenges of transforming the legitimization of violence in parental practices.